Russia Annexes Crimea
Following Ukraine's Maidan Revolution, Russia deployed troops to Crimea in February 2014 and organized a referendum — condemned internationally as illegal — in which Crimeans voted to join Russia. Russia formally annexed Crimea on March 18, 2014. The annexation was the first forcible redrawing of European borders since World War II. The West imposed sanctions; Russia was suspended from the G8. Russia simultaneously fomented separatist war in eastern Ukraine's Donbas, establishing a "frozen conflict" that escalated into full-scale invasion in 2022.
- Year: 2014 CE
- Category: Military
